Today, the Illinois Route 66 Association announced its annual Hall of Fame inductees and the winner of the Tom Teague Ambassador Award. First, the inductees, as described by the association: The Crossroads Diner in Mount Olive, Ill. The Route 66 diner the Crossroads is a favorite place to stop and eat while traveling Route 66 … Continue reading Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame inductees announced
Category: Preservation
A high-tech solution to Devils Elbow Bridge?
The commissioners of Pulaski County have been working for months to find solutions and funding to repair the historic but fast-deteriorating Devils Elbow Bridge near the Route 66 halmet of Devils Elbow, Mo. The Waynesville Daily Guide said that Dixon, Mo., business owner Jerry Plunkett had ideas that intrigued the county: Citing the possibility of … Continue reading A high-tech solution to Devils Elbow Bridge?
Stretch of old 66 may be placed on National Register
A 1.3-mile stretch of old Route 66 southeast of Springfield, Ill., may be placed on the National Register of Historic Places next month, reports the Springfield Journal-Register. Preservationists believe the road is the longest drivable section of the original Route 66 remaining in Illinois. [...] The road, 16 feet wide compared to 24 feet for … Continue reading Stretch of old 66 may be placed on National Register
Meadow Gold sign update
The rebuilding of the historic Meadow Gold sign at 11th Street and Quaker Avenue in Tulsa continued this week. Sure, the image above doesn't look much different from the one from Laurel Kane's post last Wednesday. But look closer: That is neon tubing on the perimeter of each letter. It takes a lot of time … Continue reading Meadow Gold sign update
Coleman Theatre marking 80th anniversary
The awesomely ornate Coleman Theatre on Route 66 in Miami, Okla., is marking its 80th anniversary. Because of volunteers and long-running restoration efforts, it's in as good of shape as it's been since it opened in 1929. More about the theater's restoration and festivities related to the anniversary can be read in this Tulsa World … Continue reading Coleman Theatre marking 80th anniversary
A driven entrepreneur
The San Bernardino County Sun has quite a feature about Albert Okura, owner of the Juan Pollo restaurant chain and owner/savior of the Route 66 hamlet of Amboy, Calif., and Roy's. This excerpt shows how driven he is: Today there are three dozen Juan Pollo restaurants throughout Southern California. Okura fully intends to conquer all … Continue reading A driven entrepreneur
Pitch made for Route 66 monument in Mojave
Jim Conkle of the fledgling Route 66 Alliance sent me some photos of him making a pitch to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), her staff and other officials near Amboy Crater, just off Route 66 near Amboy, Calif., to designate a Route 66 National Monument along 70 miles of Southern California's Mojave Desert. Conkle also wrote … Continue reading Pitch made for Route 66 monument in Mojave
And so it begins …
Workers from Claude Neon Federal began re-erecting the historic Meadow Gold neon sign at 11th Street and Quaker Avenue in Tulsa on Monday afternoon. The "Beatrice Foods Co." was the only part they had attached to the framework, and that was to only one side, as of about 2:30 p.m. The "Milk, Ice Cream" part … Continue reading And so it begins …
With a flick of the switch …
... Redforkhippie saw the distinctive neon sign at the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla., fire to life again many months after it was snuffed out by a fire in the restaurant. She saw the neon sign lit on Friday afternoon, thanks to David Burke, who is supervising the restoration of the historic Route 66 restaurant. … Continue reading With a flick of the switch …
President signs bill to reauthorize Route 66 program
About 2 p.m. CST today, President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Bill that contained a measure to reauthorize the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program for another 10 years. The word came over in the past hour from wire services and an elated e-mail from Michael Romero Taylor, a longtime co-director of the Route 66 … Continue reading President signs bill to reauthorize Route 66 program